Download Disinhibition)Theory)of)Muscle)Growth

Disinhibition)Theory)of)Muscle)Growth)
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ABSTRACT:)
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The!traditionally!accepted!model!for!muscle!growth!is!the!stimulation!theory.!Under!
this!theory!the!principle!job!of!muscle!mass!is!to!maintain!its!current!size!and!that!it!
must!be!stimulated!to!grow.!!Also,!it!is!lack!of!stimulation!that!causes!muscles!to!
atrophy!or!shrink.!
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The!Disinhibition!theory!of!muscle!growth!suggests!the!opposite!–!that!growth!is!the!
principle!job!of!muscle!mass!and!that!inhibitors!exist!within!the!body!to!keep!this!
growth!in!check.!The!disinhibition!theory!also!suggest!that!there!are!environmental!
inhibitors!that!can!prevent!proper!growth!of!muscle!mass.!
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INTRODUCTION:)
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There!is!accumulating!scientific!evidence!that!suggests!that!growth!is!something!
that!our!bodies!seem!to!be!preBprogrammed!to!allow!for,!and!that!the!default!setting!
for!anabolism!in!‘on’.!!Under!this!theory!growth!is!regulated!by!various!brakes,!both!
intrinsic!(within!the!body)!or!extrinsic!(introduced!from!the!environment).!
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The!only!thing!we!can!do!environmentally!is!turn!this!growth!down,!it!doesn’t!seem!
we!can!necessarily!turn!it!up!without!pharmacologically!altering!our!physiology!
(Anabolic!steroids).!Examples!of!external!brakes!would!be!vitamin!or!mineral!
deficiencies,!protein!or!calorie!deficiencies,!disease!states,!environmental!endocrine!
disrupters,!chronic!stress,!chronic!inflammation!and!activity!deficiencies.!
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Put!differently,!the!signals!for!our!muscles!to!grow!are!already!turned!up!just!about!
as!high!as!they!can!go.!What!keeps!muscle!growth!from!continuing!into!pathological!
ranges!are!the!brakes!applied!to!it.!!Under!the!disinhibition!theory!of!muscle!growth!
we!can!do!things!to!slow!down!this!growth,!but!it!does!not!seem!that!we!can!make!
our!growth!happen!faster!or!at!a!greater!rate!that!is!already!programmed!to!happen.!
The!best!we!can!do!is!indentified!and!remove!any!excess!or!additional!brakes.!
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NOTE:!A!fundamental!aspect!of!Disinhbition!theory!is!the!view!that!exercise!
is!not!a!stimulus!per!se,!but!rather!an!exercise!deficiency!is!an!inhibitor!or!
brake.!This!is!based!upon!the!concept!that!we!are!meant!to!move!and!to!
stress!our!muscles.!That!our!default!ideal!is!not!sedentary.!
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This!is!the!disinhibition!theory!of!muscle!growth.!In!order!for!a!person!to!go!from!an!
infant!that!only!weighs!a!few!pounds!to!a!fully!grown!adult!that!weighs!well!over!
100lbs!this!growth!signal!must!be!extremely!tightly!regulated.!We!grow!uniformly!
(one!arms!doesn’t!grow!first,!followed!by!the!other).!We!also!grow!in!a!specific!
predetermined!order.!During!the!first!couple!months!of!life!it!is!left!unchecked!B!
turned!up!to!it’s!maximum,!but!shortly!after!it!begins!to!occur!at!slower!and!slower!
rates!until!it!is!essentially!zero!at!adulthood.!!During!adulthood!multiple!redundant!
signals!in!our!body!work!to!inhibit!further!growth.!!
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When!this!growth!is!not!correctly!inhibited!your!body!can!continue!to!grow!to!
abnormal!proportions!that!end!up!leading!to!various!diseases!and!shortening!your!
lifespan.!The!most!obvious!examples!of!unchecked!growth!are!tumors.!However!
another!well!known!disease!that!is!an!excellent!example!of!overall!unchecked!
growth!is!called!“Acromegaly”.!!
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ACROMEGALLY:)
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With!this!disorder!various!tissues!of!the!body!continue!to!grow!such!as!internal!
organs,!the!skull,!hands,!feet,!nose,!lips,!ears!as!well!as!a!general!thickening!of!the!
skin.!
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In!some!cases!the!entire!body!simply!continues!to!grow!larger!and!larger!until!it!
cannot!support!it’s!own!size!and!the!person!suffers!a!premature!death.!
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Andre!“the!Giant”!was!a!professional!wrestler!and!
actor!who!is!likely!the!most!famous!person!who!had!
acromegaly!(you!may!remember!him!from!the!
movie!“The!Princess!Bride”).!He!still!well!over!7!feet!
tall!and!weighed!over!500lbs.!He!died!at!46!years!of!
age!due!to!cardiovascular!complications!associated!
with!his!condition.!This!is!an!example!of!how!big!a!
human!body!can!get!if!growth!is!not!properly!
inhibited.!
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As!you!can!see!from!this!picture,!Andre!is!massive!compared!to!a!normal!sized!man.!
The!point!is!this!potential!for!growth!is!in!all!of!us,!and!if!left!unchecked!can!cause!
us!to!literally!grow!to!death.!
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This!condition!is!due!to!an!abnormally!high!secretion!of!growth!hormone!that!
should!not!be!happening!into!adulthood.!In!other!words,!the!GH!secretion!should!
have!been!turned!down!but!it!wasn’t.!Even!though!the!cause!was!extreme!levels!of!
Growth!Hormone!the!important!lesson!is!the!human!body!was!capable!of!continued!
growth!in!due!to!the!increase!in!GH.!In!other!words!it!had!the!potential!to!continue!
to!grow!to!absurd!levels.!
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This!is!one!example!of!disinhibited!growth,!but!it!illustrates!the!point!that!the!body!
is!fully!capable!of!growing!to!abnormal!proportions!if!inhibitors!are!not!in!place.!
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MYOSTATIN:))
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Myostatin!is!a!gene!that!tells!our!muscles!to!stop!growing!once!they’ve!reached!their!
correct!or!‘normal’!size.!!It!is!one!of!the!central!inhibitors!of!muscle!growth.!
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Scientists!realized!myostatin!was!the!‘off’!switch!for!muscle!growth!when!they!
discovered!animals!that!didn’t!have!this!gene!had!muscles!that!continued!to!grow,!
even!once!pathological!complications!began!to!occur!as!a!result!of!the!muscle!
growth.!As!seen!in!the!following!pictures!animals!missing!the!myostatin!disease!had!
truly!remarkable!amounts!of!muscle!mass.!
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This!black!dog!is!a!whippet!just!like!the!smaller!dog,!but!the!black!dog!is!missing!the!
myostatin!gene!that!tells!it’s!muscles!to!stop!
growing!at!a!normal!size.!The!black!dog!is!double!
the!size!of!the!normal!dog.!!
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You!may!think!that!this!dog!looks!like!it’s!on!
steroids,!but!in!reality!it!has!reached!a!level!of!
muscularity!that!is!probably!beyond!even!what!the!
highest!amounts!of!steroids!could!possible!create.!
The!bodies!natural!ability!to!grow!unabated!it!that!
powerful.!
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This!is!an!example!of!how!much!larger!an!animal!can!become!when!it’s!normal!
genetic!code!is!missing!the!signal!to!tell!it’s!muscles!to!stop!growing!at!the!normal!or!
optimal!range.!!
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These!animals!are!likely!to!live!a!shorter!life!because!of!this!deficiency!as!their!
system!is!not!designed!to!handle!this!much!muscle.!!And!this!is!an!extremely!
important!point!–!Myostatin!and!other!brakes!within!the!body!exist!for!reason!–!
Muscle!growth!beyond!the!optimal!preBdetermined!level!is!often!associated!with!
negative!side!effects,!including!death.!
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Scientists!have!managed!to!purposefully!
‘knock!out’!or!remove!this!gene!in!mice!
to!test!what!happens.!Have!a!look!at!the!
results.!
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The!mouse!missing!the!myostatin!gene!
is!double!the!size!of!a!regular!mouse.!
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The!interesting!thing!to!note!about!
myostatin!is!that!all!of!the!extra!size!is!
muscle!mass!!Of!course!bodybuilders!wanted!to!get!their!hands!on!any!drug!that!
could!suppress!myostatin!but!no!such!drug!exists…yet!!
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Of!note!–!the!larger!mouse!lived!half!as!long!as!the!smaller!mouse.!
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This!last!picture!is!a!specific!breed!of!cow!called!“Belgium!Blue!Cattle”.!These!cows!
are!also!myostatin!deficient!and!are!massively!over!muscles!compared!to!a!normal!
cow.!
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As!you!can!see!from!the!previous!series!of!pictures!both!humans!and!animals!have!
the!potential!to!grow!to!absurd!proportions!when!our!genetically!predetermined!
growth!inhibitors!aren’t!working!properly.!
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These!are!examples!of!what!happens!when!growth!is!not!properly!inhibited.!So!
what!happens!when!growth!is!inhibited!too!much?!
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CATCHCUP)GROWTH:)
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We!know!that!children!can!experience!abnormally!slow!growth!which!stops!them!
from!reaching!full!maturity!if!there!are!too!many!grow!inhibitors!present.!One!very!
well!known!inhibitor!to!normal!growth!is!a!lack!of!total!calories,!a!second!is!a!lack!of!
adequate!protein.!!
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In!both!these!cases!a!child!that!is!underdeveloped!due!to!a!lack!of!protein!or!calories!
ceases!to!grow!and!can!fall!well!below!his!or!her!peers!in!both!height!and!lean!body!
mass.!
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The!amazing!thing!is!that!these!same!children!will!experience!‘catch!up’!growth!
when!they!are!finally!given!enough!calories!and/or!protein.!In!some!cases!the!child!
can!experience!4!times!the!normal!growth!rate!of!a!normal!growing!child.!In!other!
word,!the!body!is!ready!to!grow,!it!just!needs!enough!calories!and!protein!to!fulfill!
the!predetermine!growth.!
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The!interesting!thing!that!we!see!in!the!catchBup!growth!research!is!that!these!
children!only!need!the!required!amount!of!protein!and!calorie!that!the!normal!
growing!children!are!receiving.!They!don’t!need!‘extra’!protein,!or!‘extra’!calories!
even!though!they!are!currently!under!developed.!This!means!that!just!getting!their!
protein!and!calories!back!to!‘normal’!is!all!that!is!required!to!remove!this!growth!
inhibition!and!get!them!back!on!track!to!full!growth.!
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This!catchBup!growth!can!happen!to!people!well!into!their!20’s!and!has!been!
documented!in!people!as!old!as!29!years!of!age!!
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Another!interesting!fact!is!that!growth!inhibitors!aren’t!always!calories!or!proteins.!
Children!in!abusive!environments!who!undergo!chronic!levels!of!emotional!stress!
can!be!stunted!to!a!similar!degree!as!children!who!are!malnourished.!When!these!
children!are!removed!from!the!abusive!environment!they!undergo!similar!rates!of!
catch!up!growth!without!any!changes!in!protein!or!calorie!intake.!
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The!point!being!that!your!body!is!ready!and!capable!of!growing!and!will!grow!to!full!
size!if!there!are!no!abnormal!inhibitors!in!place!such!as!a!lack!of!calories!or!protein.!!
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On!the!other!hand!if!the!correct!growth!inhibitors!are!not!in!place!our!bodies!can!
grow!out!of!control!as!in!the!case!of!acromegaly.!!
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GENETIC)IDEAL:)
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All!of!this!information!points!to!the!idea!that!there!seems!to!be!a!sweet!spot!for!
growth!inhibition!that!can!allow!for!growth!not!only!to!our!full!potential!but!to!our!
optimal!genetic!ideal.!!
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In!the!second!half!of!this!months!topic!we’ll!discuss!this!ideal!as!being!the!ideal!
Adonis!Index!for!men!and!the!ideal!Venus!Index!for!women.!!
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We!believe!that!with!the!correct!environment!(exercise,!nutrition,!other!lifestyle!
factors)!you!can!set!the!stage!for!optimal!growth!and!reach!your!ideal!genetic!
potential.!
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CONCLUSION:)
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This!is!part!one!of!a!two!part!series!on!the!disinhibiton!theory!of!muscle!growth.!In!
part!two!we!will!discuss!the!inhibitors!to!muscle!growth!that!you!cannot!control,!
and!most!importantly!the!inhibitors!that!you!can!control.!
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You’ll!learn!what!you!can!do!to!maximize!your!growth!potential!and!build!your!ideal!
physique.!In!the!meantime!your!job!is!to!try!to!reframe!your!mind!from!a!‘stimulus’!
thought!process!of!muscle!growth!to!a!‘disinhibition’!thought!process!of!muscle!
growth.!
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This!mental!shift!alone!is!a!big!step!and!will!help!prepare!you!for!the!information!
that!is!coming!in!part!two!and!how!to!take!action!on!the!steps!we!will!be!presenting!
to!remove!your!inhibitors!and!get!to!your!true!muscle!growth!potential.!!
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Disinhibition!Theory!of!Muscle!Growth!Part!1!